Love Lost in Translation
by MistressNoriko
Summary: Evelyn Trevelyan finds herself in a new life with new responsibilities. Not only does she have to adjust to a life of freedom outside of the circle, but she also has to navigate how she fits into the Inquisition and its plans to seal the hole in the sky. Nothing has gone to plan, especially her growing feelings for a Lieutenant of a Mercenary band that begins working alongside her.
1. First Impressions

**Love Lost in Translation  
**_Fanfic by MistressNoriko_

**A/N: **This story has been kicking around in my head for a while and I thought it was finally time to put it to paper.

Enjoy!

**Chapter One: First Impressions**

* * *

_Why do _**I **_have to go to the blighted, bear-infested Hinterlands? Again?!_ _I'm not some bloody errand mage! _Evelyn Trevelyan thought begrudgingly as she kicked at a small pebble that had made its way into the chantry. _And to look for a Grey Warden who doesn't want to be found? Wouldn't Leliana's people be better suited for this? They're _**spies**_, for Maker's sake! _

The mage let out a loud, frustrated sigh, uncaring of who might overhear her. Madame Vivienne de Fer looked over her shoulder as she unpacked something onto a desk along the far wall of the chantry. Evelyn forced a smile when their eyes met. She didn't have the energy to partake in any sort of conversation with her and kept walking towards the chantry doors.

Vivienne's pretentious attitude about mages and the necessity of circles had been an intolerable lecture to endure on their long travel back to Haven from Val Royeaux. The woman didn't understand the plight of most mages – she was wealthy, lived outside the circle for most of her adult life, and had political influence pouring out her well-rounded ears. Evelyn hadn't even had a "true" circle experience, herself, given her lineage to the Trevelyan noble family, but knew she'd had it good while Vivienne boasted that all mages had a good life in the circle. Evelyn disagreed with every fiber of her being; she'd been granted an extravagant room in the Ostwick circle; she was allowed to leave to travel home for lavish parties, and the Templars overlooked almost everything she did that was out of line – or perhaps that was because she'd slept with several of them. She assumed it was a combination of the two facts.

Evelyn wasn't blind to the fact that the other mages in her circle were not treated with the same kindnesses and that she had been extremely well off in comparison, unlike Vivienne's closeminded interpretation. Evelyn had used her station to try and make life better for the other mages in the Ostwick circle. There were many times she'd intervened when the Templars were disciplining or berating another mage. Other mages didn't quite know what to think of her, but they knew that if she was around, there wouldn't be any trouble from the Templars. Some even sought her counsel when they wanted to have something changed and Evelyn would use her bloodline to the other mages' advantage to see the change through.

But listening to Vivienne prattle on, she would have you believe that mages were incapable of caring for themselves and needed to be dominated by an overaggressive Templar presence; a presence that needed to be increased so another rebellion had no chance of starting up. It wasn't something that Evelyn ever expected the ostentatious woman to change her view on. Had it not been for Josephine's voice in the back of her head begging her to make contacts with the Orlesian court, Evelyn would have declined Madame de Fer's offer to join the Inquisition outright. She knew she wasn't in charge, but the severe woman's way of thinking was dangerous and, if the way of the world was left up to her, she would have all mages returned to circles for a miserable life of confinement and have them held there indefinitely until the next blight demanded their services.

The one good thing to come from the latrine fire that was Val Royeaux—given the altercation at Madame de Fer's estate, the show of aggression from the Templars against the chantry, and the general fear from the Orlesian citizens of the Inquisition—was meeting Sera. The rambunctious elf archer had made the long journey back to Haven bearable and helped save Evelyn's sanity and blood pressure while Orlesian mage rambled on and on about the importance of circles by making faces just out of Vivienne's view, cementing her confidence that letting Sera join the Inquisition was the right call, despite Cassandra and Solas' visible hesitations.

Evelyn already knew that the blonde elf would probably accompany her whenever she left the confines of Haven to do the Inquisition's bidding. Not only because she was a damn good shot, but she was fun to be around. In fact, that was where she was headed – to the tavern to ask if Sera wanted to go trouncing around bear-infested, bandit-riddled, war-torn woods to look for a stuffy Grey Warden.

Perhaps she needed to sell it a bit better than that.

She had a sneaking suspicion, though, that Sera would accompany her regardless simply for something to do. The elf seemed the type who liked to keep moving and traveled enough to know how to navigate new areas. That was something that Evelyn desperately needed assistance with – she could charm people all day long, something she'd perfected in her time at noble house parties growing up and seducing Templars and other mages while living at the Ostwick circle. Charm and diplomacy she could do. Street smarts and wilderness navigation was something she needed help with. She'd grown up sheltered and didn't know how to navigate a world that wasn't meticulously landscaped or closed off from the rest of civilization.

She'd rather follow Sera's lead than Solas', the other wanderer of their steadily growing merry band of misfits. Evelyn still wasn't sure why she didn't like the elven mage, but he made her uncomfortable and feel inferior somehow, in a different way than Vivienne did. His talks of spirits and the fade was fascinating, and he never spoke down to her because she always made inquiries when they spoke. Their conversations were always very academic and often pleasant, but there was something about the way he held himself – something she hadn't figured out quite yet.

She opened one of the heavy doors to the chantry and the cold Haven air hit her immediately, blowing straight through the cloth of her jacket.

"Maker's balls," she said, her teeth chattering against one another as she drew her jacket tighter to her person. "At least the Hinterlands is warmer than Haven," she muttered as she looked at the path through the snow towards the tavern. "And prettier… even with all the bears constantly attacking you."

"Um, excuse me."

Evelyn stopped and looked to her right. A young man was standing there in impressive armor, rubbing his hands together for warmth as cold mist hung around his mouth from his exhale. She was glad that she wasn't the only one who was cold. She blinked as she looked the man up and down, seeing an emblem on the cloth hanging from the leather strap about his waist that she was unfamiliar with.

She couldn't help the smile that slowly spread across her lips as she surveyed the man: This man was attractive – short hair on the sides of his head with longer, slightly messy hair on top of his head with a gentle, clean-shaven face that held a strong jawline and prominent cheekbones. His armor was impressive – that of a front-line fighter, and although she couldn't see his actual frame, the armor made her assume he would be quite muscular. He was slightly short for a man, but not by much. His brown eyes looked at her hopefully and Evelyn glanced down to his lips – full lips that looked like they would be quite soft and perilously pliable.

"Can I help you?" she asked warmly, pivoting to walk towards him, exaggerating the sway of her hips as she went. She hadn't seen him before and was intrigued to get to know the handsome newcomer.

"I'm hoping so," he said with a small chuckle, rubbing his hands together rapidly again and then bringing them to his sides. "I've got a message for the Inquisition, but I'm having a hard time getting anyone to talk to me."

His voice was a touch higher than his stature made Evelyn thought it would be. His voice also waivered with a touch of nervousness. Evelyn bit the edge of her lip and looked him up and down again.

"I'd be more than happy to talk with you," Evelyn said, her tone suggestive. "What's the message?"

The young man swallowed and then adjusted the waist of his armor and then hooked his thumbs on the leather strap on his waist. "We got word of some Tevinter mercenaries gathering out on the Storm Coast," he began. His nervous tone changed and his voice deepened slightly as he began talking business. "My company commander, Iron Bull, offers the information free of charge. If you'd like to see what the Bull's Chargers can do for the Inquisition, meet us there and watch us work."

"_What the _**Bull's Chargers**_ can do for the Inquisition_? Are you trying to sell your services?"

The man blinked, swallowing hard as he shifted his stance. "Um, yes?"

Evelyn licked her lip thoughtfully, maintaining eye contact with the man's soft brown eyes. "Is that a question or an answer," she trailed off, realizing she didn't have a name to tease at the end of her sentence. "I'm sorry – what was your name?"

"Krem," he said automatically before his nerves resurfaced, causing him to rub the back of his neck. "Erm, Lieutenant Cremisius Aclassi, if you're feeling fancy, ma'am."

"Ma'am? Do I look like I'm that old?" Evelyn said playfully, putting a hand up to her chest, feigning insult.

"What?! No! No, ma—miss. I just," Krem bit both of his lips together and then let out a breath through his nose. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean any offense. What is your name, if we're to exchange introductions?"

"Evelyn Trevelyan," she said with the slightest of curtsies. "Though, people around here call me the _Herald of Andraste_ for some reason," she said offhandedly.

The man's eyes went wide. "Andraste's ti—you're her!?"

Evelyn smirked. "By Andraste's tits, I am." She winked.

"Maker," Krem breathed and rubbed his neck again. His nerves were back, and it made Evelyn smile wider. The young man was far too easy to fluster. "My apologies, your worship. I hope I haven't offended you."

Evelyn waved a dismissive hand as she smiled to him. "Not at all." She took a step closer to the man, looking up at him even though he was only an inch or two taller than herself. "So, Lieutenant, what can your Chargers offer the Inquisition?"

Krem cleared his throat but stayed his ground. "We're loyal, we're tough, and we don't break contracts," he said confidently. When Evelyn didn't say anything or move back, he nervously added: "Ask around Val Royeaux. W-we've got references."

Evelyn wanted to ask if he had any personal references to see if he'd blush, but she refrained. She had some sense for not driving away possible assistance to the Inquisition. But it didn't mean she would stop herself from flirting with the messenger.

"Alright. Color me intrigued, Lieutenant." She paused intentionally, taking a moment to look him up down without any subtly to her eye movements. She pulled her bottom lip through her teeth slowly and then met his eyes, satisfied to see the start of a blush blossoming on his face. "Tell me, how does this commander of yours compare to yourself?"

"To me?" he blinked and arched a confused eyebrow. "Uh, Iron Bull? He's one of those Qunari."

Evelyn stayed quiet, waiting for more information. Apparently, he took that as her not knowing was a Qunari was.

"Y'know… The big guys?" He flexed his arms in front of him.

Evelyn suppressed a smirk but continued to stay quiet.

"With the horns?" he added as he brought his hands up to the crown of his head and made horns with his fingers.

Evelyn relented and smiled. There was something charming about the man that she couldn't quite put her finger on other than his nervous awkwardness. The way that his voice fluctuated made her think that he was trying to sound tougher or more masculine, which she found cute that he felt the need to try and impress her that way. She knew it probably didn't have anything to with her specifically and was probably just how he was, but, it was still cute. Or maybe it was her… some of the most devout andrastians that had flocked to Haven treated her with a reverence that made her incredibly uncomfortable. But no – it wasn't that with Krem. He was an attractive ball of awkward nerves, not a fumbling andrastian faithful.

He waggled his horn fingers and smiled nervously.

"I know what a Qunari is, Lieutenant," she said softly, laughter edging her voice as she reached up and placed her hand around one of his, bringing it slowly away from his head and back down. His hand was surprisingly warm despite the thick glove he was wearing. She almost wished she could feel his skin to see if he was as cold as she was or if it was his personal warmth permeating through the gloved material.

The man's brown eyes widened slightly and his mouth fell agape as he watched Evelyn move his hand down. After a moment of simply looking at their held hands, he swallowed nervously again and dropped his other hand and then pulled his hand out of hers to rub the back of his neck.

"A-anyway," he said, clearing his throat. "Bull leads from the front, he pays well, and he's a lot smarter than the last bastard I worked for. Best of all, he's professional. We accept contracts with whoever makes the first real offer." He spoke quickly as if he was trying to run through all of the points he was told to relay.

He swallowed again and then met Evelyn's gaze, his eyes turning thoughtful as he considered her. He glanced up behind her, presumably at the Inquisition banner draped over the entrance to the Chantry and then met her gaze again.

"You're the first time he's gone out of his way to pick a side."

"Is that so?"

He nodded. "He thinks your Inquisition is doing good work."

"Well then," Evelyn smiled, extending her hand. "Consider the Inquisition interested."

The man blinked, looked down at her hand, and then almost jumped. He brought his hand up and clasped Evelyn's hand.

"I look forward to meeting this _Iron Bull _and the rest of his Chargers," she added.

"We're the best you'll find. Come to the Storm Coast and see us in action," he said as he shook her hand.

"Does that mean I'll get to see you in action, Lieutenant?" Evelyn asked, deliberately holding the handshake longer than diplomatically necessary.

Their hands stopped moving and the man blinked several times. "Uh. Yes?" He then cleared his throat and let go of Evelyn's hand, nodded, the muscles along his jawline pulsing slightly. The uncertainty about his expression vanished as she squared his shoulders and nodded. "Yes. I fight alongside Iron Bull, your worship," he said confidently.

Evelyn's smile spread over her face as she slowly bit her lower lip, maintaining eye contact with his brown eyes. "I look forward to the show," she said, keeping her tone suggestive with an added wink.

A rosy hue that had nothing to do with the cold flushed across his cheeks, deepening the remnants of his previous blush. He nodded to her, moved his arm to salute but brought it back down before his hand touched his forehead with a frown. He then nodded again and turned on his heel and began walking away towards Haven's gates.

Evelyn let herself watch the man walk away as she continued biting her lip. After he got past Threnn's requisitions tent, Evelyn saw him bring a hand up and smack the side of his head. She smiled. The man seemed frustrated with his demeanor in front of her and Evelyn couldn't help but smile to herself. She had enjoyed flustering him, and she hadn't even really been trying that hard. She licked her bottom lip, pulling it through her teeth at the thought of how flustered he could become if she actually put an honest effort into it.

"What the ruddy hell was that about?"

"Hmm?" Evelyn hummed, turning her head towards the sound of Sera's distinct voice.

Sera walked up from her left, presumably from the tavern. She pointedly motioned a hand towards the Lieutenant as he walked past where Varric often puttered about near a fire. "Him. Is he bloody dense or something?"

Evenly arched an eyebrow, taking a sauntering step towards her. "Why would you call that fine young man dense, Sera?"

Sera gave her a flat expression, thumbing in the Lieutenant's direction as she looked the mage up and down. "Because you clearly want to strip him stark naked and have your way with 'em and he's got absolutely no clue, hasn't he."

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him," Evelyn said with a not so innocent shrug and then fell in step with Sera as they began walking back towards the tavern.

"Rein it in a bit, will ya?" Sera teased, bumping shoulders with the mage.

"What?" Evelyn asked, looking over her shoulder at Sera, keeping her facial expression semi flirtatious. "Are you jealous that I don't look at you like that?"

Sera let out a laugh. A singular, loud laugh. "Ha! You? Me?"

Evelyn gave her a suggestive shrug as she raised both eyebrows at her and tried to give her a seductive glance, but couldn't stop the edges of her lips from turning into a smile.

She liked Sera, and she'd been with women before. Sera would definitely be a fun romp in the sheets, but Evelyn liked her too much to simply have the woman satisfy some base need like sex. As fun and aloof as Sera seemed, Evelyn didn't think that they'd be compatible romantically for more than a few fun nights. She wanted her friendship far more than she wanted anything physical from her.

Sera laughed again. "As fun as that could be, I think I'll pass, yeah? You're cute 'n all but… nah."

Evelyn laughed with the blond elf and then gently pushed on Sera's shoulder, causing her footing to go slightly off balance.

"That's it? _Nah _is all I get?"

Sera nodded with a grin.

"I'm wounded, Sera!" Evelyn cried playfully, suppressing another laugh and brought a hand to her chest dramatically.

"I'm sure soldier boy there could mend you up just fine," Sera said, sticking her tongue out with a wink.

"Oh, I'm sure he could," Evelyn said, looking over her shoulder to get one last glimpse of the man before the tents cut him from view.

Despite her selfish reasons of wanting to see more of the Lieutenant, he had made a genuine offer of assistance to the Inquisition. She had been tasked with making contacts and finding more agents for their cause and these Charges seemed willing to help. One group of well-trained mercenaries was bound to be more helpful than one singular Grey Warden, right? But it seemed that their offer had a limited window so she'd need to act fast. And if these _Bull's Chargers _helped the Inquisition, so what if that put her closer to the easily flustered Lieutenant? No one, save Sera, needed to be any the wiser.

_The crotchety Grey Warden can wait, _Evelyn thought as she bit her lip.

"C'mon. Get your gear," Evelyn said as she looked back to Sera with a smile.

"Oh?" Sera looked excited. "Where we headed?"

"The Storm Coast," Evelyn said confidently. "Let's go see him and his _Chargers_ in action, shall we?"


	2. Second Impressions

**Chapter 2: Second Impressions  
**_fanfic by MistressNoriko_

Lightning crackled in her staff as she charged another spell. Electric based spells in the rain were the most efficient way to put a quick end to opponents under normal circumstances, but these Tevinter mercenaries had armor that seemed to be resistant to her spells. So far, she'd only been able to fell one when, in other altercations similar to this one, she'd been able to debilitate an entire group at once with a well-placed chain lightning spell due to the amount of water in the air and on the ground.

_Perhaps joining the fray without a plan wasn't my best idea to date, _she thought as she ground her teeth, willing her spell to manifest faster as a Tevinter fighter began charging at her with his sword raised.

Her spell wasn't going to ignite fast enough, and she closed her eyes, bracing for impact. She wagered that her barrier, courtesy of Solas, could take one more hit before it dissipated. But instead of something hitting her, she heard the distinct sound of a thud of a weapon hitting wet armor.

She opened her eyes, blinking water droplets out of her vision to see a familiar set of armor and an impressive two-handed maul sunk into the helmet of the now downed Tevinter fighter on the rocky shore.

"You alright, your worship?"

Evelyn smiled. She couldn't see his face, as he wore a metal helmet that covered the entirety of his head, but she recognized the voice of the Lieutenant she'd spoken to outside the chantry in Haven. Krem was it? Or had it been a longer, more Tevinter sounding name?

Whatever his name was – that wasn't pertinent in this moment. She was grateful for his fortuitous timing and adeptness with his maul.

She felt the spell course through her, ready to be released. An unsuspecting Tevinter started rushing the armored Lieutenant in front of her, and she released her spell, hitting the metal of the attacker straight in the chest. Lighting enveloped every metal armament on the Tevinter before arcing off of them to an unsuspecting archer some three yards away, catching him in the arm and causing the shot they'd been aiming to go wild and up into the sky as his body convulsed to the ground. Apparently, not all the armor of the Tevinter band was made with the same superior materials.

"Better now that you're here!" Evelyn shouted so the Charger's Lieutenant could hear her over the rain, crashing sea, and battle around them.

The man gave an over-exaggerated nod before springing forward, swinging his maul over his shoulders and down on the armored Tevinter as he tried to stand up from his electrocution. The hit left the Tevinter's breastplate dinted deep into their sternum, and the body unmoving on the soaked stone beach.

"Good to hear," Krem yelled back over the sound of crashing waves. "Stay close!"

"I thought you'd never ask," Evelyn teased as she fired a quick jolt at the archer for good measure before putting her back to Krem's.

Together they fought, fending off a wave of combatants with a systematic approach: Evelyn would fire off an electrifying spell, and Krem would slam his maul to finish their foes with their powerful two-hit combination. Whenever she could, Evelyn would use a more powerful chain lighting spell to try and incapacitate a small group for a short time while they dealt with other combatants directly in front of them.

Evelyn kept an eye on her people. Sera had positioned herself in an advantageous spot on the hill, avoiding most of the fray and methodically firing arrows to finish foes. Cassandra was holding her own, sword and shield in hand as she worked with another Charger mercenary to take on an enemy spellcaster. Solas stood on the opposite side of the battlefield, casting barriers on allies and trying to suppress the enemies' magic users with his more subtle spells.

The battle dwindled down, allowing Evelyn to relax. There were a handful of Tevinter fighters engaged with some Chargers, but none were in her immediate vicinity, and the Chargers had their situation handled, felling several at once. The Lieutenant was right – they _were_ an impressive bunch.

She was just about to place her staff in its holding on her back while Krem knelt down to pick up a scroll from a downed Tevinter when the sound of feet crashing through rocks registered in her ears over the crashing sea. Evelyn turned around to see what look like the last Tevinter on the battlefield running at her, his greatsword drawn and closing fast.

"Maker's balls," Evelyn hissed as she tried to pull her staff back around.

Strong arms wrapped around her waist from the side, and then she felt her feet leave the ground as her body was moved away from the oncoming assailant. She quickly looked to see that it was the Lieutenant who was repositioning her, putting his back to the attacking Tevinter. The movement of being swung around caused her to lose her grip on her wet staff, and she heard it clatter to the ground several feet away.

The loud clang of metal meeting metal rang out as vibrations surged through the Lieutenant's armor into Evelyn's ribs. The Charger let out a grunt of pain as the blow forced the two to the ground.

Her tailbone hit first, displacing the rocks beneath her before the rest of her body crashed to the beach with the added weight of the Charger's Lieutenant atop her. Her lungs felt painfully empty, their fall forcing out all of her oxygen. Her body coughed involuntarily, desperately trying to reclaim sustenance to her airways. But breathing was made difficult with the man on top of her; he felt utterly limp. His full weight pressed down on her, and his breastplate uncomfortably compressed her breasts and rammed painfully on her sternum.

"Lieutenant?" she asked with what little air she'd regained.

Her eyes widen when booted footfalls on loose stone registered in her ears, causing a wave of panic to flow through her. The Tevinter was still very much a problem.

"Lieutenant?!" Evelyn yelled frantically, hoping to rouse the man.

Without her staff, she risked hurting the Lieutenant if she were to fire off a spell through her hands. Staves weren't required to perform magic, but it certainly helped focus the spells on hitting specific targets instead of radiating through the caster's person. And she specialized in electrical spells. With her arms pinned to her side under the man's weight, there was no way she could fire off an offensive spell without hurting him, too.

The Tevinter came into her view and raised his greatsword high in the sky, preparing to bring its point down onto the man's back. With them being in such a defenseless position, it would be easy for the Tevinter to bring the blade of the massive sword down through the Lieutenant's armor pieces, possibly running them both through if he stuck hard enough.

"Lieutenant!" she screamed, pushing up with all her strength to try and at least roll him before it was too late. She cursed herself for not learning barrier magic. If she lived through this, she'd ask Solas to teach her as soon as they got back to Haven.

The Tevinter reared up, rounding to his full height and pulled the sword high into the air with both hands on the pommel, readying to sink the blade downward.

"No, no, no, no!" she fretfully cried.

Evelyn closed her eyes tight. She desperately gripped the sides of the Lieutenant's breastplate and tried one final time to roll them out of harm's way, but she was unable.

A whistle tore through the air above before a wet thud stopped the sound. The odd noise was followed by the sound of the greatsword clanking against the ground, displacing and scattering stone in its wake. Evelyn blinked her eyes open and looked up at her assailant.

An arrow was expertly notched in his throat, which had been exposed as his hands had been raised. Blood slowly seeped out of the bottom of the helmet as gurgle resonated in the attacker's helm before he fell backward into the wet beach.

"Bits up, face down!" Evelyn heard Sera yell from the hill a fifty or so meters away.

Evelyn let out a sigh of relief. She knew that Sera would be an excellent addition to the Inquisition and she reminded herself to never leave Haven without the spunky elf. The immediate threat was taken care of thanks to Sera's quick thinking and eagle eyes.

She turned her attention back to the man on top of her. After substantial effort, she wriggled her hands free and placed them on his shoulders and gave him a gentle shake. "Lieutenant?"

"No one calls me that, your worship," he groaned. His pained voice was muffled yet amplified by his helmet. So were the laborious swallow and wet cough he took to clear his throat as he moved his head up from Evelyn's shoulder. "Please, call me Krem."

Evelyn smiled at him, her hands relaxing on his shoulders. "Are you alright, Krem?" she asked, blinking some of the water out of her eyes. "You took quite the hit."

Another cough resonated underneath the man's helmet as he nodded. "Yeah, fine… I think. Just, uh, just blacked out for a minute is all."

The stony ground beneath them shifted as the man planted his hands down and slowly lifted his torso up, his head looking around as he quickly surveyed the battlefield. The helmet re-centered, looking down at Evelyn for just a moment before a bolt of tension ran through his entire body. He ground his knees down, forcing them between Evelyn's splayed legs and sat up slightly before wrenching his helmet off and throwing it to the side.

"Maker!" His hands fell back to the pebbles as his eyes surveyed Evelyn's face, worry creased in his sweaty brow. "Did I hurt you?!"

Evelyn blinked as their positioning registered slowly in her mind's eye – he was above her with his legs between hers. When he'd lifted her, her legs had instinctively moved to wrap around him, so her legs were up at an angle, and her feet were planted in the stony ground between the Lieutenants calves. Her hands hand moved slightly as he had moved, and now her fingers grasped loosely at the edge of the top of his breastplate.

_Maker, what I wouldn't give to have him along right now, _Evelyn thought wickedly.

Although not her favorite position, she could only imagine the strength Krem possessed if he could wield that massive maul, and how this particular position would be advantageous to that core strength. With her legs wrapped around his, she resisted the urge to encourage him closer. But now wasn't the time. Not because there were plenty of people around, or that they were on a beach in broad daylight, and it was raining and miserably cold outside – those factors didn't bother her. Not in the slightest. It was more the fact that she didn't want to be so forward so quickly, despite her body's inclination otherwise. She wanted to make him work a little to win her affection before she'd give into those carnal desires, no matter how physically attracted she was to him.

She bit her bottom lip as she locked eyes with him before moving one of her hands up to flatten out Krem's disheveled helmet hair.

"I can handle being tossed around and a bit of pain. I actually quite enjoy it when a strong man like yourself can move me how he pleases," she said as she let her hand caress his cheek as it moved back down to his shoulder. Though she wouldn't physically tease him, verbal teasing was always fair game in her book. And it was far too much a part of her personality that it was impossible to stop it from entering into her conversations anymore. Well. Not impossible. But she didn't care enough to try and change the way she interacted with people. She found too much joy from flustering people, even in jest – but especially when she was legitimately interested in them.

A shade of red blossomed on his cheeks that had nothing to do with the cold weather or the exertion of battle. The man's mouth fell open and released the smallest of whimpers that Evelyn had quite possibly ever heard.

She was about to add something about preferring the action with much less clothing but wasn't able to get the words out, as a large hand clapped Krem on the shoulder.

"Chargers! Stand down!" a booming voice called out to the battlefield, before jovially adding: "Heh, good going, Krem _de la Krem_."

Evelyn followed the line of the pale gray, impressively muscled flesh and found herself looking at a shirtless qunari. Well, not totally shirtless. He had leather straps that held a singular shoulder armor covering in place, but other than that, he was shirtless, exposing all of Thedas to his muscular physique.

The qunari put his impressive hands under Krem's arms and lifted him up off of the ground and steadied him on his feet before offering his hand down to Evelyn.

"And you must be the woman everyone is talking about," the qunari said.

"All good things, I hope," she said back as she clasped his forearm.

He pulled her effortlessly to her feet as if she weighed literally nothing at all. The movement was a little too quick, and she had to put a hand out to his massive muscular torso to steady herself. Evelyn cleared her throat and took a decided step back and withdrawing her hand from the qunari's chest. She liked men a great deal, but she'd never been into excessively muscled ones.

"Er, Iron Bull, I presume?" she said tentatively, looking the imposing qunari up and down, her eyes lingering on his eye patch for only a moment before remembering her manners.

"Yeah," he grinned. "The horns usually give it away."

"Here, your worship," Krem's voice said from the side.

Evelyn looked over and saw that he'd retrieved her staff from the stony ground and was handing it to her. She smiled warmly to him as she took it, making a point to _accidentally _brush her hand against his. She knew his hand was protected by his gloves and gauntlets, but she noticed him let the touch linger before pulling his hand away. He stood at attention next to Bull and didn't meet Evelyn's watchful eye, but that didn't stop the blush across his cheeks becoming more prevalent.

"So," Bull's voice boomed, drawing the mage's attention back to the impressively statured qunari. "What do you think?"

She gave a cat-like smirk and looked directly at Krem, who happened to look up and catch her eye.

"Well, count me thoroughly impressed," she said, exaggerating the word thoroughly suggestively before winking at the blushing Lieutenant.

Perhaps it was the wink or her tone, but the light red hue on his cheeks continued to grow darker as he swallowed nervously.

The Iron Bull laughed loudly before bringing a massive hand up and clapping his human Lieutenant on the shoulder. The movement jostled Krem's entire body, throwing him slightly off balance.

"Ha! Krem's really something, isn't he?" Bull's good-humored demeanor shifted as he took his hand off of Krem's shoulder. Seriousness began to edge into the corner of his lips as his smile dissipated. "But let's talk business, shall we?"

"Of course," Evelyn responded diplomatically.

"Krem," Bull started, turning slightly to the shorter human next to him. His muscles seemed to impede his movement somewhat as he turned from his hips instead of angling his neck. "Check on the crew and see that everyone's okay and then see to it that the throat cutters get to work."

"And, the Casks, chief?"

The Bull tsked at the man. "I like where your head's at. But you know the rules – no booze until all the vints are dead. Well, unless the vint is on _our side._"

Krem shook his head but was smiling as he walked off towards the battlefield and his fellow Chargers.

Evelyn looked between them, confused. Bull didn't give her long to stay in such a state, as he started walking towards the shore.

Right. They had business talks to attend to.

She sighed and began walking after him.

* * *

"Welcome to the Inquisition," Evelyn said as she extended her hand out. Handshakes made things official, right?

The Iron Bull smiled wide and took her hand in his, enthusiastically shaking her entire arm.

"You won't regret this," he assured her with a final shake.

Perhaps having a Ben-Hassrath among the Inquisition forces wasn't the best plan, but he was upfront about it. And he made it clear that he was the only one of the qunari spies among his men. The Chargers consisted of people he'd picked up along his travels and each held to their own traditions or lack thereof. The Chargers were just another band of merry misfits, much like the Inquisition itself in its current state.

"Krem!" the qunari yelled across the field. "Tell the men to finish drinking on the road. The Chargers just got hired!"

A chorus of cheers overpowered the sound of the crashing sea waves as the Chargers rejoiced in the news. Evelyn looked about the field to see several with their hands in the air, some with mugs of ale in their hands. Sera had a mug of her own and brought her mug against a hooded dwarf man's, ale spilling over into each other cups as they cheered together. She then found Cassandra and Solas standing near each other at the base of the hill, both looking cross with their arms folded in front of their chests like disappointed parents.

Evelyn couldn't help but smile. They proved to be a capable bunch. And the Inquisition was still in its infancy. They would be fools to turn any help away. Leliana would keep close tabs on them and ensure that the Ben-Hassrath arrangement wasn't an imposition to their entire operation. She was eerily sure that Leliana would take care of things if it became a problem. Despite often being frustrated with the redhead, she knew never to cross the woman.

"What about the casks, chief?!" she heard Krem cry above the jeering and celebration. "We just opened them. With **axes**!"

Bull and Evelyn turned to see Krem looking slightly deflated, an empty mug in his hand. Apparently, he'd been serving drinks and hadn't partaken yet.

Bull gave an impressive shrug. "Find a way to seal them. You're Tevinter, right? Try blood magic."

The mage's eyes went wide, and then she quickly glanced to the Lieutenant. But his dismissive head shaking and laughter immediately put her at ease. The man wasn't a mage. Tevinter, perhaps. Mage, definitely not. Especially with how he wielded that maul. The blood magic comment must have been an inside joke.

Evelyn swallowed nervously.

_Maker, I should really think things through more thoroughly sometimes,_ she thought to herself. _What if they __**had **__been Tevinter blood mages?_

Looking at Krem though, she knew she was worrying for nothing. The man was too kind and too nervous to be into any of that Tevinter _blood sport_. The way he looked dejectedly down at an open cask only proved that.

She reached out and placed a hand on Bull's imposing forearm. He stopped his forward movement and looked down at her.

"Perhaps a compromise is in order, hmm?" Evelyn started. "My people are camping here tonight. We did have quite a long journey to get here and will be staying in the area for a few days. What do you say we celebrate the Chargers getting hired on in the way of keeping those casks open, but moving them up to the Inquisition camp, just up the hill and we all partake?" She motioned towards the hilltop.

The camp was several meters out of view, nestled in the trees behind the peak of the hill.

"I mean, with the world in chaos, we can't forget to enjoy ourselves from time to time," she finished with her most charming smile.

She fought the urge to look back to see what Krem was doing. It was silly how much she found herself wanting to look at him. It had been quite some time since she'd been so attracted to someone. When she'd joined the Inquisition, she'd initially been curiously attracted to Commander Cullen, but the surface level attraction quickly fizzled out when she found out he used to be a Templar. She'd had enough Templar relations for several lifetimes and wasn't interested in continuing that particular power dynamic in her relationships. Romantic, sexual, or otherwise.

"I like the way you think," Bull responded as a toothy smile spread across his pale reddish lips. He then turned back to the crowd of Chargers and yelled, "Change of plans! We drink with the Inquisition tonight!"

Another chorus of cheering filled the salty sea air, causing a smile to spread on Evelyn's face.

Regardless of whatever Bull being Ben-Hassrath meant or didn't mean for the Inquisition, she knew one thing for certain – she was going to be happy to have them around. So far everyone, save Varric and Sera, at Haven was stuffy and uptight. The Chargers would be a breath of fresh air for all of Haven, and she was sure they'd be more than eager to help raise morale, so long as booze was consistently available. And they were damn good in a fight, too.

She looked up to see Krem cheering with an elf and the hooded dwarf rushing over and talking animatedly while pointing to the cask in front of them. The Charger's Lieutenant looked at ease with these people, not the fumbling nervous messenger she'd seen at the Chantry a few days prior. She liked what she saw – the smile on his face gave warmth to her chest. Or was that her body's recollection of feeling him on top of her?

She smiled to herself and turned back to Bull.

"I do have one more question for you if you don't mind."

"Hmm?"

"Do you have any rules for your Chargers having," she paused, thinking over her words. "_Relations _with their employers?"

Bull raised his eyebrow over his good eye and then chuckled. "They're all consenting adult. They can do what, and presumably who, they please. My only rule is they can go about their business so long as it doesn't the fuck the rest of us out of getting paid."

The mage gave a small laugh at Bull's choice of words. "How pragmatic."

His eyebrow arched higher. "And does the _Herald of Andraste_ have her pretty blue eyes on a particular Charger?" It was clear he thought her newfound title was just as silly as she found it.

Evelyn smiled and shook her head. She was already enjoying the qunari, and he seemed trustworthy enough, given how forthcoming he was about the entire Ben-Hassrath thing. Perhaps he could accompany her instead of Cassandra for a while. She still needed Solas' protective magics in the field until she learned them herself or came across another mage who was proficient because she absolutely refused to travel anywhere with Vivienne regardless of magical talents.

"No. Just wondering. I need to communicate all the details of our arrangement to the powers that be, you know," she joked, avoiding his inquiry.

She then looked back to the field to see the hooded dwarf standing behind Krem who now had an opened cask balanced on his back. The dwarf's hands were holding the bottom of the barrel as the two began walking up the trail to the Inquisition camp atop the hill, Sera leading the way.

"Uh huh," Bull chaffed, eyeing her impishly.


	3. Waking up Warm

**Chapter 3: Waking up Warm  
**_fanfic by MistressNoriko_

"Shhh," Evelyn hissed as she dove into Sera, clasping her hand tight around the slender elf's mouth. "It will hear you!"

Sera stuck out her tongue and forced it between two of the mage's fingers, wriggling it side to side vigorously. Evelyn brought her hand away with a startled expression, falling backward but was stopped by the muscular frame of the qunari sitting next to her. Sera sniggered impishly as she brought up a hand and pointed at Evelyn's face before laughing into her mug of ale. She took a long drink and emptied the remains of the amber liquid.

Bull laughed boisterously before bringing his heavy hand down, clapping Evelyn's shoulder.

"C'mon, _Herald,_" Sera started, inflating the mage's title and continued to snicker, only interrupted by a small hiccup as she began to stand, pointing towards the dragon in mid-flight. "That dragon is huge! We have to get closer, yeah?"

"Oh, and you think our drunk asses will be sneaky about it?" Evelyn asked, laughing herself as she grabbed the intoxicated elf by the wrist and pulled her back down to the ground. Sera landed on the grassy hilltop next to her and fell into her. "If it's so big, we can get a good enough look at it from here, hmm?"

"Pffft, you're no fun," Sera said, blowing a raspberry at Evelyn but making no effort to correct her posture.

Evelyn smiled down at her intoxicated friend. "Oh, I'm plenty of fun," she said suggestively but laughed shortly after. She liked Sera, but in the most platonic way possible. "But I'd like to avoid knowing what a dragon's innards look like for as long as possible."

"Eeew," Sera said, leaning heavier against her and pushing her more into Bull. "Why'd you have to make it about the ick?"

Evelyn and Bull laughed at Sera's discomfort. As their laughter quieted down, the mage let herself simply be between her evening companions, all three turning their gaze to watch the dragon land on the far offshore and give a concussive roar; a troll broke through the thick tree line, catapulting a rock from its grasp towards the dragon. Their small group gasped sharply as a collective whole when the dragon spat electricity at the rock, shattering it in midair.

Bull made a noise that sounded like he was enjoying the taste of something, but his large mug sat empty on the grassy hilltop they were seated upon as he looked across the bay as the massive dragon body slammed the equally giant troll into the stony shore.

Evelyn eyed him, a playful smirk playing on her lips. "What? Jealous of the troll, Bull?"

"Heh." A wicked smirk pulled on his lips. "Don't yuck on other people's yum, Herald."

Sera eyed him, leaning further into Evelyn, practically in her lap now, and looked up at the massive man that Evelyn was leaning on, ensuring he could see her face. "You tellin' me that dragon's strike your fancy? It's the horns, issnit?"

They all laughed.

It might have been the alcohol in her system, but Evelyn couldn't help but smile when she noticed how comfortable she was with the amount of physical contact between the three of them. With Sera sprawled into her lap and Bull's impressively muscled chest to lean into, it reminded her of when she was growing up, sharing an afternoon with friends before her magic manifested and took the childhood she'd known and ripped it away from her. Despite being loose with the rules in the circles, she had still been under the constant watchful eye of the Templars, and they frowned when mages were huddled and having fun. Her time at the Ostwick circle had been a relatively somber decade of her life.

She was glad that Sera was becoming a close enough friend to be physically affectionate with; more so now with alcohol in her system. Bull was a lot to take in visually, she had to admit, but he was proving to be extremely kind in his own way and hadn't done anything to make her feel uncomfortable or done anything remotely suggestive. He'd said plenty of sexually allusive things, but Evelyn had never been the subject matter, and that felt oddly refreshing.

She sat happily, unmoving with her two relatively new teammates and smiled to herself, alcohol warming her cheeks and chest. She hoped that they continued to get along and that they'd be traveling more together. Maker knows they were already more fun than Cassandra's constant disappointed matronly attitude and Solas' insufferable air of superiority. Not to say either wasn't damn good in a fight – but Evelyn had spent too many years denying herself joy in the circle and trying to find it in the beds of others that it felt refreshing to be making what felt like true friendships, and quickly. If she didn't have to be unhappy in her travels, then she wasn't going to force herself to do so. Not for the shattered Chantry. Certainly not for the blighted Templars. Not for the Inquisition. Not even for that dreadful hole in the sky.

The battle between winged scales and moss-covered sinewy muscle raged on the beach and the three watch in awe. The electricity from the dragon illuminated the mist thrown ashore from the crashing sea. They all watched silently, breathing together as one as the dragon sunk its impressive teeth into the neck of the troll before coming away with its head, and throwing it into the crashing waves with a roar that reverberated in their bones.

Bull smiled. "What I wouldn't give to roar like that," he said, he voice sounding far off in amazement as the dragon retook flight, headed towards the opposing mountainside, shrouded in low hanging clouds that promised rain tomorrow.

He then sighed happily and leaned back, his hands planting on the ground behind him. His movement caused Evelyn to move backward with him, Sera following. The added weight of the two women in their inebriated states caused Bull to simply fall back, all three giggling. Evelyn's head rested on Bull's stomach, and Sera's with hers in the mage's lap. They laughed together for a moment before they all just stared at the sky above, the clouds parting to show the speckled sky full of stars.

"You know," Bull said softly, his deep voice sounding deeper with Evelyn's ear to his torso. "Qunari hold dragon's sacred. Well, as much as we hold anything sacred."

"Is it 'cause they have horns same as you lot?" Sera said. Evelyn didn't need to see her face to know that she was smirking playfully.

Bull made a grunting noise that could have been in agreement or could have been dismissive. Evelyn didn't know him well enough to know either way, yet.

"Ataashi, the glorious ones," Bull said fondly as he moved to put his massive arms behind his head, continuing to look up at the sky. "That's our word for them. A-taaa-shiii."

Evelyn simply listened to him muse. His voice was deep and soothing. If she wasn't careful, his dulcet tone would lull her straight to sleep.

"Dragons are the embodiment of raw power," he continued, breathing deeply as the lilt of alcohol affected his speech, slurring it slightly. "But it's all uncontrolled. Savage. So, they need to be destroyed, not worshiped like the vints do. The q'un believes that hunting them will tame the wild. Make order out of chaos."

"You're gettin' too serious, yeah?" Sera said, sitting up from Evelyn's lap and made a grab for the mage's half-consumed mug of ale. "I think you need another drink!"

The elf took hold of the mug and offered it out for the qunari. Evelyn sat up, making a half attempted to reach for it. "Hey! I was going to finish that!"

"Not in this century you were!" Sera teased, holding the mug higher. "Either pound it back or pass it on, I say."

"Heh," Bull laughed from below, sitting up and taking hold of Evelyn's mug, it looked dwarfed in his large hand. "I'm with Sera on this one," he said before he threw back the remnants of Evelyn's drink. After an audible gulp, Bull made a satisfied noise deep in his throat before a belch detonated out of his mouth.

Birds in a nearby tear flapped away into the dark night, breaking from the tree line and hurrying towards the beach.

"Classy," Evelyn jeered as she sat up from her displaced position from Bull's movement.

"I'm the epitome of class, your herald-ness," Bull said with a flourish of his hand, bending slightly forward in his still seated position.

A tiny hiccup jolted him upright again, his face looking surprised. Evenly and Sera both broke out into another unified round of laughter at the tiny hiccup from the massive man. After a moment and another hiccup, Bull began laughing himself, his shoulders jostling as he did so.

"Had I known the Inquisition was going to be this much fun, I would have sent Krem earlier!"

"I'm pretty sure it's just Evvy," Sera said, her laughter subsiding. "Everyone else has a rather large stick up their rears."

Evelyn huffed. "Maker, tell me about it."

Bull's grin slowly spread across his face. "Sounds like the lot of them need an appointment with a good Tamassran."

"Ta-massy-what now?" Sera asked.

Bull shrugged. "If you're good, I'll tell you about them another night." He put his hands on his knees and began standing, the leather of his shoulder piece creaking as his muscles moved underneath it. "But it's late. We should probably hit the sack if we're going to make the trek back to Haven tomorrow."

"Practical and a good time," Evelyn said with a smile. Bull offered her a helping hand, and she took it, his hand enveloping her entire forearm as he pulled her to her feet. "Consider me thoroughly impressed. And happy to have you along," she said as she smiled at him.

A wave of dizziness washed over her, and she caught herself by putting her hand on his muscled abdomen. She then reached out for Sera, slinging an arm around her neck as the elf was just getting to her full height and leaned away from the qunari, smiling.

"You lot are going to be a sorry mess in the morning," Sera said, her hand going to support Evelyn's waist.

Bull shrugged. "I'll be good. It's our _Herald _here who may have drank too much."

"Oh pish," Evelyn dismissed. "I'm fine. Just… wobbly."

The three laughed again and then slowly started making their way back to the quiet Inquisition camp. The soldiers standing watch all looked at them curiously as they passed, considering they were pretending to be sober and absolutely failing to do so. Once they broke through the camp line, Sera started to snicker, and Evelyn poked her in the ribs.

"You'll wake the camp! Shhhh," she playfully hissed.

"You'll wake the ruddy camp," Sera retorted, her fingers grabbing Evelyn's slight frame by the ribs and tickling.

Evelyn tried to bat Sera's hands away, causing them to tussle playfully. Bull simply chuckled to himself before waving to them.

"Try and get some rest you two," he said with a grin before turning to his own tent.

"Goodnight," the two said in unison in hushed voices that carried in the silence of the camp. They heard several people within the nearby tents grumble and then both clasped their hands over their own mouths before looking at each other. Laughter still shown in Sera's eyes, and Evelyn felt another fit of giggles threatening to take hold.

"Go on to the tent," she whispered and took a step away from her friend. "I'll be just a minute. I just need to find the privy tent."

Sera nodded and bounded off into the dark, headed towards the tent that they had agreed to share. Some Inquisition soldier's had to double up to make room for the Chargers, most of whom slept with two or three to a tent as it was. When the requisitions soldier asked if Cassandra and Sera would be willing to share a tent, Evelyn said that that wouldn't be necessary and offered to share one with Sera instead. Cassandra had looked reluctantly grateful while Sera grinned mischievously. The two were in the midst of talking about what sorts of pranks they wanted to pull on the other campers when Bull had come up with drinks, offering to drink with them. And it hadn't been too long after that that they took themselves to sit on the hilltop to drink and laugh together without worrying about being too loud for people trying to catch some shut-eye.

The humid night air clung to Evelyn, and she stepped out of the privy tent, adjusting the front of her robes. The air smelled like salted pines, and she found herself smiling. She'd never been one for hunting in her youth before going to the circle, nor had she had the opportunity to travel to places like this before. Each day with the Inquisition held new places and new experiences and, despite the dire circumstances of the giant hole in the sky, Evelyn felt happy for the first time in ages.

_It's amazing what freedom does to a person, _she thought as she began walking back to her tent.

All of the campfires had been extinguished, and Evelyn paid close attention to her footing, ensuring not to trip over any of the oddly shaped rocks or roots jutting out of nearby trees. When she reached the tent and pulled back the flap, she could scarcely see that Sera already had her blankets pulled up and over her head and was sleeping soundly.

She'd never been one to sleep with too much on, and she and Sera had already agreed that sleeping in their smallclothes together would be fine. Despite how they'd playfully flirt with each other in front of others, the two knew it was all platonic and that that was all it would ever amount to.

As quietly as she could, Evelyn stripped out of her traveling robes, folding them neatly in the corner of the tent before crawling under the mass of furs and blankets on the ground. The alcohol in her system was already making her eyes feel heavy, but the weight of the coverings overtop her combined with the passable pillow and the warmth of Sera's body radiating next to her was all she needed to fall into a deep sleep.

* * *

Cold air broke through the seal of her warm blankets as something shifted next to her. Evelyn grumbled and scooted closer to Sera, wrapping her arms around her and pulling her back. She wasn't ready to get up yet, and she definitely wasn't prepared to be cold. She was sure Sera wouldn't mind. Nuzzling her face forward on Sera's back while also trying to move further under the pile of furs and blankets, Evelyn noticed something strange.

Sera didn't smell like Sera.

And the body of the person she'd wrapped her arms around wasn't lithe like Sera. She could feel that her hand was underneath the person's shirt, resting on a softly muscled abdomen that was taut, tension radiating through their body.

Evelyn's eyes opened with a start, and she moved her head back. Morning light from a distant sunrise filtered through the overhanging coniferous trees of the campsite and through the thick fabric of the tent itself. There was just enough illumination inside the tent to see that the person sharing her bedroll was definitely not Sera, as her blonde hair was starkly missing, replaced by incredibly short dark hair.

The person slowly looked over their shoulder, and Evelyn found herself looking into Krem's amber eyes. She felt her lips part in surprise. Krem's eyes looked her over, his expression was similar to when they first met – nervous.

"Erm," she started, testing her voice. She thought to remove her hands from Krem, but he was so warm that she couldn't bring herself to, especially because their slight movement caused the seal of warmth to break again and she could feel crisp cold air spread across her chest. "What're you doing in my tent?"

"Your tent?" Krem asked before he swallowed, the angle of his neck making the sound louder than it normally would have been. He licked his bottom lip nervously. "I'm sorry, your worship, but you seemed to have crawled in _my _tent last night."

"I what?" Evelyn asked as she sat up, intent on looking about the tent.

With the small light filtering in, she could indeed tell that this wasn't her tent. It wasn't even a tent belonging to the Inquisition – the sun illuminated the fabric to be a grey color with haphazardly patchwork stitching, distinguishably different than the brown leather tents that the Inquisition was outfitted with. In the corner of the tent, just to the left of the tent flap, she could see Krem's armor and massive maul set to the ground and small pile of clothing, haphazardly folded atop his breastplate to keep it off of the ground.

Her quick movement, though, left the Lieutenant without something behind his back and he fell backward onto his bedroll with a small huff of air forced from his lungs. Evelyn looked down at him, seeing the slightly longer hair atop his head splayed on the camping pillow beneath him, his eyes wide and his cheeks crimson.

"Maker – I'm so sorry!" Evelyn said in a rush, placing her hand down on the plane of Krem's abdomen. "I would never try and do anything to you while you were asleep! I promise! I thought this was Sera and I's tent last night when I crawled in!"

Krem blinked several times, the crimson spreading from his cheeks to his ears.

Shivers of cold air coiled around the mage's exposed torso, clinging to her shoulders and the small of her back. She became astutely aware that she was only wearing her underwear, as she'd stripped out of her traveling robes before crawling under the mound of blankets the night before. She felt heat rush to her own cheeks that had nothing to do with the alcohol she'd consumed with Sera and Bull.

Evelyn noticed the young man's hand fidgeting at his sides, grabbing and releasing the fur blanket that had spilled to his side as his eyes surveyed her visible skin. He swallowed nervously again and tried to speak, stammering over incoherent words before he cleared his throat and brought his gaze up to meet Evelyn's.

"No need to apologize, your worship," he finally managed to get out as smile formed on his blushing face. "It was a pleasant surprise to wake up warm for once out here."

The brief panic of feeling the need to cover herself vanished as Evelyn looked on his smiling face. She found herself looking cyclically from his eyes to his lips and back. Though smiling, his mouth was parted just so and the blush strewn across his cheeks lessened as he spoke.

She brought one shoulder slightly forward, coyly looking down at him over it as her hand moved more outspread over his abdomen, her nails just barely pushing against the cloth of his tunic.

"Are you telling me that you like me in your tent?" she asked, her coy smile articulated with a quirk of her eyebrow as she bit the edge of her lip.

The dissipating blush on Krem's face blossomed with a renewed vigor. "I, uh," he stammered, trying to find more words but none came.

Evelyn felt the smile on her lips spread in a catlike fashion. She used her free hand to pull her hair to the side over her shoulder and began leaning forward.

"Bloody hell," Evelyn heard Sera's voice carry from somewhere nearby outside the tent. "Where in Thedas did her drunk arse end up last night?"

"I'm sure she's around here somewhere, Sera," Bull responded, his voice sounding closer to Krem's tent.

Evelyn looked to the side of the tent as she bit her lips together. She could feel that Krem was holding his breath from the hand that was still atop his stomach. She looked back at him, and his eyes were roving her entire body, but his hands stayed fidgeting with cloth and fur at this sides.

She wanted to finish leaning forward and kiss him. To properly thank him for saving her life on the beach the day before and savor the warmth of his body pressed against hers before she had to dress and then travel about in the cold, wet air of the Storm Coast.

"Herald!" she heard Sera shout. "Wake your pretty tits up, yeah?"

She rolled her bottom lip through her teeth before sighing and straightening her posture.

"Duty calls, I suppose," she said, playful annoyance painting her tone.

Krem swallowed, and Evelyn felt the man breath again under her hand. "I suppose it does," he said with a nod.

Evelyn smiled at him before pushing herself up to stand, letting the blankets and furs drop around herself. She immediately missed the warmth of her bed partner, but she was not at all disappointed by his reaction: Krem's eyes grew wide as they surveyed her mostly naked body and his mouth fell ajar again. He then blinked several times in rapid succession before adverting his gaze, rolling to the side of this bedroll and moving to stand himself.

She smiled to herself as she stepped away and grabbed her traveling clothes, a small swell of pride flowering in her chest at the reactions she was able to elicit from him. Rather substantial reactions with almost minimal work on her part. She wasn't used to men looking upon her and simply being awestruck. She was more used to men seeing her in similar states and immediately moving toward her as if to claim her for themselves. And usually, it was exactly what she wanted in those moments. But with Krem, it had been an honest mistake to crawl into his tent. She certainly hadn't planned to show her body to him so quickly.

_Perhaps it's a good thing Sera is looking for me, _she thought as she brought the front of her traveling robes up over her shoulders and drew them closed in front of herself. _Who knows what I'd do with a man as gentle and hesitant as he seems to be._

She bit her own lip at the thought, the prospect of bedding him was alluring. She'd been with men and women, but often found her male partners to be too dominating and the encounters ending too quickly for her liking, while her female partners to be too submissive and her getting almost no attention herself from the other. She was curious about what type of bedmate Krem would be. The way he had fidgeted with his hands made her think he was trying to distract himself from doing something else. And he'd been respectful, not looking too long at her body and tried to maintain her eye contact.

She frowned slightly as she secured her belt in place. Perhaps she was simply misreading the entire situation, and Krem had been uncomfortable and wasn't at all interested.

Looking up from her clothes now that they were donned, she saw Krem fussing with the drawstring of his trousers. His hands trembling just so as they held the cord and tried to make a knot but failed, pulling one end all the way through. She couldn't tell if it was from the cold morning air or from nerves of waking up to having her in his tent.

Evelyn crossed the tent and put her hand on his elbow. He only jumped slightly and his amber eyes, highlighted by the lingering rosy hue on his cheeks, shot up and met the mage's pale blue ones.

"Do you need a hand?" she asked, letting her nails trace the prominent bone of his elbow.

"What? Oh," he said as a shiver overtook him, his eyes fluttering momentarily before he cleared his throat. "I'm p-perfectly capable of—"

Evelyn cut him off by leaning forward and kissing his cheek, just above the corner of his mouth. As she withdrew, she brought her hand up to trail a finger along his jawline. "You fluster too easily," she said softly, watching his mouth open and his tongue tentatively move behind his lip. She smiled and leaned further into him, bringing herself more forward to whisper in his ear. "I quite enjoy it," she admitted provocatively.

As she pulled back, she noticed that the expression on Krem's face changed. His head followed hers as she pulled back, tilting his head slightly forward as his eyes solely focused on her lips. The shift was so starkly different that it caught Evelyn off guard and she looked from his lips to his eyes again, her hand cradling the side of his face. She wanted to close the small space between them and see what his lips felt like, but she unexpectedly became self-conscious at Krem's shift in demeanor. She felt a blush spread across her cheeks and found herself swallowing inaudibly and parting her lips and Krem seemed to lean in closer.

"What do you mean she's missing?" Cassandra's authoritative voice proclaimed loudly over the silent camp.

Evelyn flinched and snapped her attention to the tent flap. "Shite," she said under her breath before looking back to Krem who was blinking rapidly again and began to straighten his posture away from Evelyn. "I suppose they're going on about me," she added sheepishly, feeling a pang in her chest to lose the closeness of the man in front of her.

"Right," he said, his voice dropping lower as he cleared his throat. "Duty calls."

Evelyn smiled at him, gently caressing his cheek with her thumb. "Indeed, it does."

And with that, she gave him a final smile and a wink before moving to leave the tent.

The air outside the tent was substantially colder than it had been in Krem's tent. Morning mist and dew evaporated in the morning rays as the sun slowly crept higher, causing a low hanging fog to float about the campsite that was nestled into the woods. Evelyn brought her hands up and hugged herself for warmth as a cold shiver ran through her, her breath visible in the crisp morning air.

She made it only a few yards from Krem's tent before Sera bounded up next to her, practically jumping on her side.

"Where in the bloody breach have you been?!" the elf asked loudly. "I found her! Call off your dogs!"

Evelyn smiled and rolled her eyes slightly. "Did you honestly think I'd gone missing?"

"Are you shittin' me?" Sera rounded in front of her, crossing her arms in over her chest. "You didn't come back to the tent last night, and you expect me to think all is flowers and rainbows or some shite?"

Evelyn smiled and put her hand out and touched the elf's shoulder. "I'm sorry for scaring you. I simply got a bit turned around last night, is all."

"Turned around?" Sera repeated with a dramatic arch of her eyebrow. "Whatcha mean by that?"

"I ended up in someone else's tent, thinking it was ours."

Sera looked at her blankly and blinked. Laughter then broke through her lips and took over her features. "Whose tent?" she eventually got out between a roll of laughter.

Evelyn shook her head and looked back over her shoulder. As if on cue, Krem walked out from his tent, ducking under the tent flap before standing to his full height, fully dressed in his armor.

"Wait – no," Sera teased, pushing Evelyn on the shoulder gently.

Evelyn simply looked back to her and smiled, shrugging.

"You expect me to believe you stumbled into his tent on _accident_?" Sera grinned. "It's not even on the right side of camp as our tent!"

Evelyn rolled her eyes again. "It was dark. And, if you well enough remember, I was drunk."

"I'm sure lover-boy didn't mind."

"Nothing happened," she said simply and started walking again, Sera falling in step with her.

"Nothing?"

"Nothing."

Sera eyed her. "Oh, somethin' happened alright."

Evelyn looked at her, quirking an eyebrow. "And what makes you so confident to say that?"

"Because you're smiling like you got lucky, yeah?"

Evelyn shook her head, laughing softly to herself. Nothing happened. But she was intrigued by the man – that hadn't changed. And there was a moment, despite how brief, where it seemed that Krem was interested in her, too. Though, it's not every day that you wake up with a practically naked woman in your bed who was not there the night before. But she was sure that had Casandra not yelled, Krem would have kissed her. And who knew what the morning may have held for them had he closed the distance between them.

Before she could refute Sera's allegation, though, an inquisition messenger ran up to her.

"Report for you, ser!"

Evelyn smirked. "Duty calls," she said to Sera, thankful for the interruption. Though she felt a familiar warmth to her cheeks, remembering how Krem had cleared his throat before saying those exact words to her before she left his tent.


	4. Invitations

**Chapter Four – Invitations  
**_fanfic by Mistress Noriko_**  
**

* * *

Maker was it good to be back in Haven. That was a phrase Evelyn never thought she'd think to herself when she had been here last, but the small snowy town was starting to feel like home that she longed to return to while she'd been traveling. A home more so than the circle ever had despite spending most of her life there.

It had been a few weeks since she'd been here as she'd worked her way through the Storm Coast, rescued Inquisition troops in the Fallow Mire, and then went back to the Hinterlands to quell what she could of the civil war between mages and Templars there and finally find the disgruntled Gray Warden, Blackwall. She'd even gained several new agents for the Inquisition, but most notably she'd acquired the talents of Horse Master Dennet along with his stable of horses.

She couldn't get over how glad it was to be back in Haven. No bears. No tent sleeping. No having to put up with Solas' superiority complex or the insufferable way he spoke down to Sera. No crawling creatures of the fade or of the undead. Just quiet, snow-laden Haven, with a house all to herself, roaring fireplaces in each building, and now her very own stabled horse to tend.

The Fereldan Foder whinnied, nudging his impressive nose against Evelyn's shoulder before nibbling at her coat, looking for treats. She felt herself smile at the gentle beast of burden and brought a hand up to stroke along the strip of white that ran from the horse's nose to the line of his mane. The horse, who she'd affectionately started calling Herald as a private joke to herself, was simple – he had a burnt chestnut mane and the white along his face was the only light color on his otherwise perfectly brown coat. Evelyn had tried to feed him apples when they were traveling back from the Hinterlands, but Herald really rather enjoyed the snow peas that she'd found along the ride home and he knew that she had more in her pocket.

Herald nibbled at the cloth on her shoulder more insistently, pushing slightly, causing Evelyn to laugh and cup the backside of his massive head.

"Alright, alright," she said softly. She retrieved the snow peas from her pocket and offered them up to him. Her hand was immediately met with Herald's wet lips and tongue as he began to scoop them out of her hand, munching happily.

Her hand empty, she withdrew it only for a cold snap of wind to pick up and chill her to her core, her damp hand not helping matters.

She shivered violently and wiped her hand off before plunging it back deep into the pockets of her winter coat. The cold definitely wasn't something that she missed during her travels. She could deal with chilly mornings in the various Inquisition camps that she and her merry band of misfits made along the way, but it always warmed up. Haven, on the other hand, was perpetually freezing no matter the time of day. Everyone walked adorned in thick furs and leathers and she had even had Harritt make her the winter coat she was wearing because her traveling robes simply weren't doing the job.

She, Sera, Bull, and the reluctant Solas had made good progress through their travels in Ferelden. Good enough that Josephine had sent word to them to return because she was certain they'd gained enough influence to approach either the rebel mages, as the council often referred to them despite Evelyn's protests, or the Templars. She still wasn't sure why she couldn't attempt to approach them both and make them work together to fix the hole in the sky that they both undoubtedly had a hand in creating but she was consistently overruled. She was, after all, just a fictitious figurehead of Andraste that got people to flock to the Inquisition banner – she had no actual say in most matters the Inquisition did aside from the missions she went on and who she deemed eligible of being an agent when she ran across them in the field. It was infuriating. Not only because she hated being associated with Andraste, but because she felt relatively powerless to inform change despite her ability to travel and help. All the feats she'd achieved with her traveling group felt insignificant so far. She felt like she was simply amassing resources and not actually doing anything to fix the conflict that was tearing the lands apart or to repair the literal hole in the sky above.

The mage tried to ignore the dread in her stomach about yet another meeting that she was simply attending to be told what to do and where to go to next. She'd rather they just left her out of the meetings for a few hours of rest before telling her where she was traveling to and what she was expected to do when she got there.

A sigh silently escaped her lips, only noticeable because of breath freezing as it coalesced with Haven's frigid winter air, her exhale visible as it curled and coiled around her mouth before dissipating with the breeze. Herald whinnied, tossing his head up and down before turning from her to trot around in his pen. She watched him for a few moments before the wind picked up again. To her left she heard the flapping of a nearby tent and the sound of someone cursing Andraste's name.

Evelyn blinked and looked curiously to her side and saw that a new tent had been erected. The tent was all too familiar, as Bull had been very particular about using his own when they all traveled together. It had been set up between two trees just to the right of the gates to Haven. Standing nearby was none other than Lieutenant Aclassi, rubbing his hands together fiercely as he looked out at the company of Inquisition recruits training under Commander Cullen's watchful eye.

Warmth blossomed in Evelyn's chest at the sight of Krem. The last night she'd seen him she'd been mostly naked in his tent. She'd spent several wakeful nights while traveling thinking what might have happened had Sera, Bull, and Cassandra not been looking for her so fervently. Though it was only ever thinking and imagining without ever being able to use those thoughts to find any sort of release herself, as she always shared a tent with Sera. But her imaginings always got away with from her, wondering all sorts of things about Krem and what type of lover he was. She'd thought about him enough during her travels since seeing him last to finally come to terms with wanting to actually pursue him and not just passively flirt with him and see where things ended up.

She wanted—no, needed to know what it was about him that had her so intrigued with so few encounters. Was it that he'd protected her with so little regard for his personal safety on the beach? Was it because he was so easy to make blush? Or was it the fact that he'd been so respectful when she was all but naked in front of him in his tent. He could have easily done what he'd wanted to her that morning, but he'd kept his hands to himself and tried to keep his gaze on her eyes and not roaming her body, though she knew he had gotten a few full-body glances in.

No matter how much she'd thought about **what **it was about him, she couldn't put her finger on exactly what it was that had her so enraptured with wanting to get closer to him. Normally her flirtations were out of boredom or a passing fancy that burnt out quickly when nothing culminated from it. She'd never spent so much mental energy thinking about a person before and that made her think about him more as she tried to figure out why it was that she couldn't seem to get Krem out of her thoughts. Perhaps it was that he was both strong yet gentle – his ferocity on the battlefield proved his strength and his inaction in the tent had none of that ferocity to it. Most of the men she knew were fairly singular in note, living and dying by their bravado. Krem had complexity and depth to him.

Regardless of whatever it was about him that kept her interest solely on him, there was still a nagging doubt in the back of Evelyn's mind that Krem didn't feel the same. Just because she had enjoyed their encounters thus far and savored every moment of teasing him didn't mean that he returned the sentiment; she didn't have a good enough read on him to figure out if he enjoyed any of it in turn. Her logic always fell back to the fact that had they not been interrupted that morning in the Storm Coast, Krem would have kissed her in the tent, there was no doubt in her mind about that. But was that something he had actively wanted or had it been something more akin to the convenience of having a woman in close proximity? That she hadn't been able to figure out and it vexed her greatly.

_Standing here in the cold isn't going to help me figure him out any quicker, _she thought as she brought her arms to hug herself against another frigid gust. She let out a determined huff and pushed off of the snow her boots had sunken into and began walking up to the man who had been swimming in her thoughts for the last few weeks.

"Andraste's tits," Evelyn heard Krem swear under his breath as she got near, his hands still rubbing furiously together.

"Haven not to your liking, Lieutenant?"

Krem stood to attention at the sound of Evelyn's voice and turned towards her. "Your worship!"

"Oh, at ease, or whatever they say," Evelyn chuckled as she walked within arm's reach of the man.

"Sorry," Krem stammered as his hands fidgeted at his sides, his cheeks and nose rosy from the cold. "You just spooked me, your worship. The wind and the sound of those recruits training at all hours of the day have ruined my ears, I fear. I didn't hear you approach."

"It's alright," she said softly, reaching out and cupping the back of his elbow. "We're all safe here with the number of Inquisition troops we have. And besides, you don't need to be a sentry – Cullen's men have that covered."

Krem shrugged, but a smile pulled at the side of his chapped lips. "Old habits, I suppose."

"Do you always feel the need to protect those around you?"

He thought for a moment before nodding. "I suppose so, yeah."

Evelyn eyed him carefully. Perhaps she was about to get an answer to one of her questions. "Why, though? You're not a soldier. You're a mercenary, are you not? Isn't the whole point of being a mercenary to make money by any means necessary?"

"Oh, maker no," Krem said, his smile turning a shade somber. "I… I was once a soldier. But left that life behind for more reasons than I care to count presently. And traveling with Iron Bull? Well, the people we end up fighting are usually trying to hurt others. We never take on jobs that are about hurting or terrorizing people for spite. It's part of the reason we won't just take any job thrown at us. Bull has a decent vetting process to ensure we're not being tricked into doing something nefarious."

"Hmm," the mage thought, ignoring a shiver that was prickling along her spine. Krem still hadn't answered her initial question. "So why the personal need to protect people?"

Krem met her eyes and surveyed her face for a long moment before taking in a deep breath and bringing his hands together again, rubbing furiously to stave off the cold. "Because I'm capable. I don't need some higher calling like the Templars or some political bullshit like a nation's military rank to put my capabilities to good use helping people in need." He shook his head and then met her eyes again. "As soon as you start making allegiances, you start making calls on who deserves to live or not. I don't think anyone should have that kind of power."

Evelyn's lips parted as she listened to Krem's impassioned tone. This was the most she'd heard the man speak without his nerves getting the better of him. She felt heat mixing with the sting of cold on her cheeks as she realized that her attraction to him grew in that moment.

She rolled her bottom lip through her teeth and then gave him an appreciative smile. "Those are some noble sentiments, Lieutenant."

Krem took notice of the sultry dip of how Evelyn had enunciated his title and averted his gaze from hers, clearing his throat. "Y'know, no one calls me that… other than you," he said as he brought a gloved hand up to scratch the back of his head.

The mage shrugged and took a small step closer to him. "And you're the only one who calls me _your worship._"

"I had just assumed you didn't like being called _Herald_."

"You assumed correctly," she said with a smile, catching his amber eyes again.

She could tell that the cold was getting to him but that there was also evidence of a blush intermingled in the rosy hues of his cheeks. She didn't need to have all of the answers to why she was attracted to the man to know the feeling blossoming in her chest as her mind wandered back to the last time she'd made him blush. Perhaps she could finally see what the man would do if she were able to get him alone again.

"Well, this cold doesn't seem to suit you in the slightest. I see this is Bull's tent," she said with a quick glance to the side at Bull's massive personal tent. She then looked back to Krem and gave him a catlike smile. "Where do you sleep?"

"Uh," he stammered as he blinked. He cleared his throat and then motioned his head towards the company of new recruits training amongst snow and Inquisition tents. "The Chargers are set up by the tree line over there."

"Where?" Evelyn asked innocently as she took another small step towards him.

"Uh, there," he offered and extended his arm out, pointing to a cluster of trees past the company of recruits.

The mage smiled inwardly at how easily Krem fell for her small trick. She moved almost flush against him, keeping her hands to herself to avoid touching the cold metal of his armaments but leaned her head close to his to try and follow the line of his arm to see the tents he was pointing at. She could, of course, already see them, but Krem's reaction was worth the ruse. She could hear him swallow nervously and lean away to give her the correct angle to look from.

As he moved though, Evelyn continued to lean inward and lost her footing, forcing her to catch herself by placing her hands on his breastplate. Krem was quick to help, his arms going around her to steady her, bringing them flushed together. He wasn't especially tall, so it brought their faces relatively close together. Slipping hadn't been a part of her plan, but it yielded results that she was all too happy to have. Krem's strong arms held her around the waist, his fingers gripped just slightly into the fabric of her winter coat and pressed into her person, just above her waistline. As they looked at each other, their frozen exhales intermingled between them, rising slowly before evaporating into the frigid air.

"Thank you," Evelyn said simply but didn't move.

Krem nodded, his eyes looking from hers, to her lips, and then back up again.

That was all the confirmation she needed. "Say, neither you or I am doing well in this cold and I can't imagine the Chargers' tents are quite adequate enough for such a climate," she began, taking a pause to bite at the edge of her lip. "Might I make a suggestion?"

Krem swallowed. "The tavern doesn't have rooms. Bull's already inquired."

Evelyn smiled. "That isn't my suggestion." When Krem made a silent _oh,_ she continued. "Might I suggest perhaps you sharing _my_ bed?"

"I beg your pardon?" Krem asked, startled by her words.

_That's not a no,_ Evelyn thought and pressed on, more determined than before. "I was given a small home here in Haven after I tried to seal the breach the first time. I was able to stop it from expanding but was unable to shut it. Anyway," she paused, watching Krem's expression as he followed her words. He listened with his mouth slightly ajar and his eye contact not breaking from hers. She imagined he was concentrating on her words so his focus wouldn't be drawn to the way that Evelyn let her pelvis move forward, pressing into his while he held her upright still. Satisfied with his reaction and apt attention, she continued: "The people of Haven saw it fit to reward me for my heroism and gave me the house. It's quaint and nothing extravagant, but it has a fireplace, solid walls, a sizable bed, and it isn't too drafty. I'm sure a bedfellow would warm it up quite nicely. And I'm sure it's much warmer than that patched together tent of yours."

"I'm… I'm sure it would be."

"Well, I'd be more than happy to share," Evelyn said, keeping her tone even with a slight lilt of suggestion. She didn't want to come off as eager as she felt. She needed to maintain her composure if she was going to convince the blushing Lieutenant to accompany her home.

Krem had made no movement to lessen his grip around her waist. She desperately wanted to reach up and coil her finger under his chin but felt that the effect would be lost in translation with her frigid fingers on his already cold face. So instead she moved her hands to loosely hug around his neckline, keeping her pelvis flushed to his.

"Afterall, it's the least I can do to return your heroism of saving me on the Storm Coast as well as being such a gentleman when I mistook your tent for mine on the same evening."

The young man blinked and then narrowed his eyes as if he was trying to recall what she was referring to. His eyes opened wide as his eyebrows shot up as the memory apparently came back to him. "Your worship, there's no need to repay me for those things."

"It isn't so much of repayment as me recalling you saying something to the effect of _it being nice to wake up warm for once,_" she teased and added another suggestive nibble to the side of her lip while holding his eyes.

Krem swallowed hard, blinking several times. "Did I—Did I say that?"

"You did indeed, Lieutenant."

Krem looked at her for a long moment, his eyes surveying her face. Evelyn longed to know what he was thinking but hadn't a clue. All she knew was that she could feel his arms around her tighten just slightly as his fingers danced nervously where they held her. She then caught that he wasn't just surveying her face, he was looking to and from her lips again.

Evelyn smiled and leaned in close to him. "If you want, we could walk to my house now so you could see for yourself. Test out the bed before you give me your final answer."

Evelyn meant every ounce of the innuendo that left her lips and Krem took immediate notice. It took him a moment, but he eventually smiled and nodded.

"I, uh, I would enjo—"

"Oh, there you are," Varric's voice yelled from somewhere behind her. "Ruffles is in a tizzy looking for you, y'know."

Evelyn immediately swallowed the groan that radiated in the base of her throat. "Of course she is," she whispered. She looked up to Krem to apologize but she felt that he'd gone rigid and was beginning to remove his hand from around her waist. She let out a sigh but placed a hand on his breastplate and smiled at him. "Perhaps another time, then?"

Krem gave an over the top curt nod. "Of course, your worship."

The mage playfully shook her head at him before she offered him an encouraging wink. Krem noticed and gave her a small smile in return. She then gently pushed away from him, letting her hands linger on the breastplate of his armor until she was too far away to maintain the touch. "Until then," she said softly and then rounded on her heel to make her way to the gates of Haven.

Her boots sunk slightly into the snow as she made her way to the gates. Varric leaned against them with a knowing grin on his stubbled face. Evelyn eyed him as he fell into step with her when she mounted the few steps and continued into Haven proper.

"Careful. You'll break the poor boy," Varric said with a chuckle.

Evelyn looked down at him as they continued to walk, quirking an eyebrow. "Exactly how much of that conversation did you hear?"

"Enough to tell you that that boy didn't understand what you meant by _testing out the bed_."

Evelyn playfully rolled her eyes at the dwarf before finally offering him a warm smile. "Well then, it's a good thing that you aren't going to be the one to show him what I mean, then, isn't it, Varric."

"Me? Teach? No no no," he said quickly with an added sound of distaste before shaking his head and looking up to meet Evelyn's gaze. "I'd just hand him one of my romance novels, give him a pat to the shoulder, and wish him luck."

He laughed as Evelyn shook her head, humoring him with a small chuckle of her own. But Varric didn't seem to be finished, because he put his hands out defensively before he continued.

"And listen, I'm not judging! But the boy doesn't even have stubble," he said as he motioned back towards the gates. "If it were one of my books, he wouldn't be the dashing mercenary that I'd pair your character with. That's all I'm saying."

Evelyn swallowed a sigh that could have very well come out as a growl. She didn't take kindly to the fact that Varric insisted on calling Krem a boy. It felt patronizing and made Evelyn think that Varric assumed Krem couldn't take care of himself. "That _**man **_can expertly wield a maul that is taller and heavier than you, Varric," she said with a bite to her tone.

"That may be," the dwarf conceded. "But I honestly think you could be stark naked in front of him and he'd still not be sure what you were up to."

She felt the frown turn on her face before her brain was able to come up with any sort of retort. Of course, she didn't believe that to be true. Varric obviously hadn't seen the way that Krem had been looking at her, especially with how he'd been looking at her lips and ever so slightly pulling her closer to him. He knew exactly what she'd meant. She was confident of that. So what if Varric didn't think Krem had. She hadn't been putting on the show for Varric, after all.

Varric gave an innocent shrug that seemed to say _I'm just saying _as he often did when they used to travel more frequently together. He then looked to the chantry and then back to her, giving her an encouraging nod before splitting off to go towards the tavern.

Her frown deepened and her eyebrows drew closer together. She had been practically stark naked in front of Krem on the Storm Coast and he had simply seemed overwhelmed, but not uninterested. She was still sure that had they not been interrupted something would have happened between them that morning. And she was confident that Krem was about to tell her that he would enjoy going with her to her house just now. Varric was just wrong.

She shook her head and let out a sigh. Varric's opinion didn't matter. As far as she could tell, Varric had an affinity for writing romance but wasn't someone who personally partook in the pleasures of the flesh. And he definitely wasn't some all-knowing dwarf, either. She blinked and looked over her shoulder as Varric steps put more distance between them and she couldn't quite stifle her curiosity.

"If this _was _one of your ridiculous romance novels," she called after him. She'd never read them herself, but he'd told her all about them one drunken evening while they were traveling. "Who _would _you pair the _Herald of Andraste _with?"

The dwarf stopped and turned around. "Honestly?" He chuckled and tapped his chin, giving it some thought. He then shrugged. "It's a coins' toss. Cullen has that self-brooding angst about him that writes and sells well or Iron Bull because, well, let's just say the tales of qunari are larger than life."

Evelyn stuck out her tongue and playfully clutched at her stomach to act like she was throwing up, causing Varric to chortle. He waved her off and continued on his path to the tavern. She then shook her head and moved her tongue about her mouth like one does when they're trying to get rid of a bad taste.

_Cullen? Bull?_ she thought as she started her trek towards the Chantry again to get the information for whatever mission she was about to be sent on next. She let out an involuntary shudder, thinking about the idea of being sexually involved with either of the men that Varric paired her with in his overactive imagination. _Blech. Maker no. I'd much rather stay my course and see where things lead with Krem._


	5. Simmering Tempers

**Chapter 5: Simmering Tempers****  
**_fanfic by MistressNoriko_

**A/N:** I took some liberties with how the game narrative unravels in this particular chapter – mainly that the Herald doesn't get approval from the war council before assisting the rebel mages in Redcliffe.

Enjoy!

* * *

"So, what's the first order of business?" Dorian asked as their group passed the gates to the snow-laden lands of Haven.

"A drink," Bull said stiffly.

"A bloody strong one," Sera added.

"Ah, yes. Alcohol. To warm the bones after a long bout of travel?"

"No," Bull said curtly as he passed the two mages. "To try and forget about all the shit you've been yammering on about since Redcliffe. If I hear one more word about time rifts and demons, I'll take out my other eye."

Evelyn watched as Dorian blinked, taken aback by Bull's bluntness.

"C'mon. First rounds on me, mate," Sera offered.

The elf and the qunari's speed hastened and the two walked past the group of training soldiers, leaving Evelyn alone with the affronted mage.

"I didn't talk about it _**that**_ much, did I?" Dorian asked, turning his confused expression to Evelyn.

"Dorian, you spent the entire journey talking about it. I can't say I blame them, honestly." She brought her hand up and pinched the bridge of her nose to stave off her lingering headache. Traveling and constantly being regaled with the story of what happened in the time-displaced future that she and Dorian experienced together and tangents about the work he'd done while apprenticing with Alexius was impossible to follow. Especially because she had yet to recover from Alexius' spell going awry and throwing them a year into a terrible dark future that she hoped would never come to pass.

It wasn't that she disliked Dorian. On the contrary, she rather enjoyed him but the man talked at a rate that was impossible for her to keep up with while her head was foggy from exhaustion and world-altering knowledge of how magic could be perverted. It wasn't like she was oblivious to theoretical magic – but magic that could alter the fabric of time was something that had never graced her academic discussions before.

"I'm sorry, Dorian. I think we're all just in need of some overdue rest."

The Tevinter mage gave her a slanted smirk. "That we are. C'mon. That drink sounds good. I wonder if your tavern has any _Sun Blonde Vint-1_... A glass of that and I'm sure Bull and Sera will be in my good graces again." He gave a toothy grin.

"Only if you promise no more speak of time rifts."

"But of course!"

They shared a smile and continued on their path towards Haven's main gates. Before they found solace in drink, Evelyn desperately wanted to find two people: Leliana and Krem. Leliana because she felt the strong urge to hug the spymaster. She couldn't wipe the memory of the woman laying down her own life to ensure that she and Dorian had enough time to cast their spell and return to the present day, completely unwavering in her determination and ultimately forfeited her own life to a gruesome bitter end just before she and Dorian slipped back into a time rift to present day. Everything had happened so quickly when they returned to Redcliffe, Evelyn hadn't had a chance to mourn the loss of a woman who was still very much alive.

_Ugh, this all makes my head spin, _she thought as they continued to walk, snow giving under the weight of their steps as she hugged herself.

With all of the absurdity and uncertainty from the magic she'd witnessed at Redcliffe, it made her astutely aware of time and its trappings, which brought her to the second person she wanted to see. She hadn't been able to give any sort of farewell to Krem before departing and she couldn't stop thinking about the never-ending what-ifs of what he would think if they'd never be able to speak again. Would he go about his days like nothing had changed? Would he mourn her? Wondering what his reaction would be gnawed at her core for the better part of two days and it had made sleep difficult to find the night before.

Varric's words flittered around in the back of her head which hadn't helped her restless attempts at sleep. Varric seemed to think that Krem was oblivious to her advances. When they spoke of it she was sure that the dwarf was mistaken but as they traveled her thoughts drifted to considering whether or not Varric had been right after all. She thought back to all of the interactions, poring over every recallable detail of how Krem reacted to her. Her thoughts always ended in a worried huff, wondering if the Lieutenant was awake at night too, wracking his brain about her and his feeling for her or if his mind was clear and not at all concerned.

The two mages passed the inquisition recruits and Evelyn could see Krem standing sentry: his feet rooted in spot, his eyes surveying the area as his gloved hands rubbed furiously together a few feet away from Bull's tent. His attentive eyes went wide and a smile spread across his face when they landed on her and Dorian. His gloved hand then went up high and waved at her.

Evelyn felt her heart flutter. Perhaps he **had** missed her and she had worried herself for nothing.

She turned abruptly to Dorian, putting an overeager hand on his forearm and squeezed gently. "Excuse me for a moment—there's someone I need to see."

The Tevinter mage gave her a knowing smirk. "Oh, don't mind me. By the looks of it, he's just as eager to see you."

She gave him a quick nod and then tore herself away from her traveling companion at a jog. Jogging in the snow wasn't the most dignified way to be reunited with the man who refused to leave her thoughts but she didn't care. She just wanted to be near him.

As she got to the steps of Haven, she went into a full run to close the last few yards between them. Krem stood there smiling at her, his expression only mildly confused. He made a small sound of surprise when she ran right up to him so that their bodies collided as she threw her arms around his shoulders. The sound of her traveling robes ramming against his armor made a palpable thud, reverberating into her core and threw the Lieutenant off balance. She heard him give a small _oof _followed by a low chuckle as his arms went around her waist, his legs bracing from the impact of Evelyn's body.

His arms were incredibly strong and seemingly just as eager to be around her. She wasn't sure if it was the sheer momentum of their collision or if he'd lifted her intentionally, but her feet no longer touched the ground. She tightened her grip around the man and the feeling was returned instantly as Krem did the same.

_He did miss me,_ she thought, her previous doubt vanishing from her mind as she hugged him tighter and buried her face in the crook of his neck.

Krem eased her back down but held her close as he maintained their hug. His embrace felt wondrous. She felt safe and rooted in this time and place. She momentarily forgot all about time rifts and demons and holes in the sky and the demands of the inquisition. This moment, with Krem's strong arms holding her close, was all that mattered and all that she wanted her mind to focus on.

A cold breeze passed and the two shivered against each other and a thought began to formulate in Evelyn's head.

"Maker, you're a sight for weary eyes," Evelyn said somewhat out of breath, unable to stop the all-consuming smile as it spread across her face as she let herself ease away from her tight grip of a hug.

Krem's smile changed as he looked her over, his eyebrows creasing in concern at the mage's words but his grip around her waist never wavered. "Everything alright, your worship?"

"It is now," she said, locking her gaze with his, unable to stop herself from biting the edge of her lip.

"Truly?" he asked skeptically. "I saw the chief pass through just a moment ago and he looked in mighty need of a strong drink. And not in a good way."

"I can't bear to go over the details right now as I am in dire need of rest," she said with a small sigh, moving her arms from their hold around him to drape over his shoulders instead. Her bare fingers grazed the skin on Krem's exposed neck. "Maker, you're freezing!"

Another chuckle escaped his throat. "You're back in Haven, Worship. It's always freezing here."

Evelyn gave him a playful frown. Their last conversation had plagued her thoughts on her travels and now she had the chance to ensure things weren't left unsaid again. She was sure Dorian wouldn't mind a slight change in evening plans. She quickly turned her frown into an intrigued smile. "If I recall correctly, last we spoke I was inviting you to my bed when we were interrupted. I'm freezing and would love nothing more than a warm bedfellow to help me settle into sleep."

Krem's mouth fell open as his eyes went wide. "I, uh—" he blinked hard and then cleared his throat. The all too familiar rose-colored hue returned to his cheeks that had nothing to do with the cold breeze that passed through the area. "That's awfully thoughtful of you, your worship. But I'm sure you're in need of a good night's rest after all your travels."

"True," she offered with a genuine smile. "But after the adventure I've just had… I'm not sure I want to be alone. And besides, I remember sleeping rather soundly next to you in the Storm Coast. Quite warm, too."

"Oh, you actually meant sleep?" he asked bashfully.

The mage felt her smile turn to a sultry smirk without her outright intention. "I would be more than a willing participant in _other _activities to warm us both prior to letting sleep overtake us if that's what you had in mind," she said, her voice dipping low.

The crimson color across Krem's face deepened and he opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. He opened and closed his mouth several times as the blush intensified before he finally cleared his throat. Evelyn was all too happy to see that she'd rightly flustered the man but was even happier to feel that his grip around her wasn't lessening. In fact, she could feel his hands grip the cloth of her traveling robes and pull her closer as his brain and tongue fought to figure out how speech worked again.

She had half a mind to simply grab him by the hand and start walking. Words weren't necessary at this point. And what would she say other than what she'd already said? She'd made it clear, she thought, of what she wanted and Krem, though nervous, seemed very agreeable to the specifically unmentioned actions they were both alluding to.

He opened his mouth to finally say something, sound even escaping his throat, but he was cut off by the fuming voice of Cullen over the sounds of hastily crunching snow under armored feet.

"What in Andraste's name did you do?!" Cullen demanded, sounding a few yards away. "You made a deal with the rebel mages? In the name of the _**Inquisition**_?!"

It took every ounce of willpower that Evelyn possessed to not let out a groan.

_Every bloody time, _she thought as she looked skyward, trying not to also roll her eyes. _Why can I not have a single interaction go uninterrupted? _

She let out a controlled sigh and moved her hand to the front of Krem's armor, patting his clavicle area. "If you'll excuse me for a moment. I apparently have some business that still needs to be attended to before retiring with you for the evening."

Krem's expression changed from flustered and nervous to concerned and something akin to protective as his eyes darted behind Evelyn, presumably at the oncoming Commander as he advanced through the snow towards Evelyn's location. Krem simply nodded and slowly removed his hands from Evelyn's waist.

"What were you thinking!?" Cullen demanded, his voice much closer.

Evelyn turned around to see the blond ex-Knight Captain fuming, his posture ready for some sort of altercation. She felt her eyebrows furrow as her jaw clench. She was not at all in the mood for this, whatever it was.

Cullen was still walking towards her, his shoulders slightly forward as he angrily trudged through the snow. The mage took a decided step away from Krem and rounded towards to oncoming Commander and squared her shoulders. She did everything in her power to not just yell back at him but instead began walking towards Cullen and then grabbed him by the collar, the fur itchy in her cold palm, and forced him to turn around and walk away from Krem.

The Commander made a disgruntled noise and tried to correct their stance but Evelyn didn't let go. She made it several steps away, forcefully walking Cullen away like one would handle a naughty child who didn't want to leave the market square before stopping and then pulling him by the collar to about-face, forcing his attention to her.

"First of all," she said sternly, meeting his eyes with her own hostility. She'd been through too much at Redcliffe to be treated thusly and she was beyond tired of constantly being interrupted when trying to talk with Krem. "Yelling at me about taking action when no one else in this damn encampment would will win you no favor. Not with your troops and least of all with me!"

"Or me, for that matter, handsome," Dorian's flirtatious voice sounded to Evelyn's right. He'd apparently caught up.

Cullen's eyes squinted as he regarded the newcomer in the Inquisition camp. "Who the—"

"Secondly," Evelyn continued sternly accentuated by another tug on his collar, ignoring Cullen's obvious question about who Dorian was. They could go over that later. "They needed help, Cullen. If you were there, I would hope you'd have done the same." Cullen's honey-brown eyes darted angrily back from Dorian's to Evelyn. She continued again before he could speak. "The Venatori were preying on them. I couldn't very well leave them to become indentured servants for the rest of their foreseeable lives when I could have stopped it. Especially when all the Venatori wanted was me in the first place!"

"You should have come back to get help!"

"There wasn't any time!"

"Technically speaking, with the right spell there is plenty of ti—"

"Dorian," Evelyn warned, her eyes darting dangerously at the Tevinter mage.

Dorian put his hands up and bowed his head slightly, a smirk still playing on his lips but he got the hint to keep his mouth shut for the time being.

The Commander's fists shook in their balled positions at his sides before he moved one hand up to wrenched his collar out of Evelyn's hand. "I thought we had come to an understanding that the _**Templars**_ were our best option at sealing the breach," he said through gritted teeth, his tone angry and quiet.

"Is that what you got from that meeting?" Evelyn asked loudly before letting out a huff of disbelief. "All I got out of it was that you all were having a pissing contest of who was right and no one made any decisions at all!"

"We—"

"And besides," Evelyn continued, not letting the angered Cullen finish his thought. "We can still go to Therinfal Redoubt and speak to the Templars. I was planning on setting out in the morning after coordinating with Josephine."

"You honestly think they'll work with mages?" Cullen spat. "That's how we got into this mess!"

"The breach isn't something that any of us, not even Solas, has seen before!" Evelyn spat back, letting her emotions rise to the surface. She was out of patience. "And the Venatori kept referring to an Elder One who was responsible for the breath and the death of the divine, not the Templars. We have a common enemy to fight against! Now that there is a common threat to us all, it might finally be the thing that pulls the templar's heads out of their asses and do some good for a change!"

"The Templars—"

Evelyn narrowed her eyes at him hostilely and she cut him off. "I grew up in a circle. Templars think they're Makers gift to Thedas—well they're not! They're tyrants who can't see the world past their shields!" she yelled as she articulated her words with a wild motion of her hand.

"How dare—" he growled, anger taking over and making him unable to finish his sentence. Fury flashed across his features and he moved; one hand went to the hilt of his longsword and he took a violent step forward as the blade began to withdraw from its sheath.

Evelyn balked; her mind unable to register what was occurring fast enough. She felt hands on her hips pulling her backward unceremoniously as a barrier not of her making hastily went up. Just as the tip of Cullen's sword was about to be freed from its sheath a new figure moved in front of her and grabbed Cullen by his furred collar and forcefully pushed him back several steps.

Cullen grabbed the wrist of the man in front of him, and then Evelyn realized it was none other than Krem. The Charger's Lieutenant wrenched Cullen's collar back further, putting the man off balance before his other hand went to Cullen's sword hand and shoved the blade down to the hilt back into the sheath. Metal clanging against metal rang out and caused everyone to fall silent.

Everything was still for a moment, the only movement was the rising vapors of the four adults' breaths on the frigid Haven air. Evelyn realized that it had been Dorian who had moved her away from the angry Templar. His fingers still tentatively held her hips and she could feel the tension coursing through him where they made contact as if he was ready to pull her away again if Cullen didn't simmer his temper.

Krem and Cullen were apparently having some sort of unspoken show of strength and it was clear that Krem won out. Cullen closed his eyes, shook his head, and relaxed his posture as he dropped his hands to his sides. The Lieutenant slowly released the fur and took a step back, but kept himself between the mages and the Templar.

Evelyn desperately wanted to reach out and touch Krem but kept her hands to herself as the group settled their emotions.

Cullen let out an audible sigh and shook his head. He brought a hand up to massage the skin of his forehead and put the other hand on his hip as he took one more cautious step backward.

Dorian's hands withdrew from her hips and he moved to her side, placing a hand tentatively on her elbow. "Listen. I know we just met, but I feel like we've been through a lifetime together already. Time paradox and all," he gave a forced laugh as he tried to break some of the tension in the air. "So, trust that I'm saying this from a place of kindness – we're in no shape to sort this out right now. We ought to go inside, hmm? It's awfully cold out here and I know I could use a warm drink and a fireplace." He looked down at his partially exposed chest and offered a smirk to Evelyn as he patted her arm before looking towards Cullen. "We rest and come back to suss this out tomorrow, hmm?"

Cullen looked at Dorian with his head still in his hands, squinting as if he were hungover. "Who in Andraste's name are you, anyway?" he asked, his voice quiet and tired.

Dorian presented his hand towards the Commander. "Dorian Pavus, recently of Minrathous."

Cullen ignored Dorian's hand and looked directly at Evelyn, anger edging back onto his expression. "You brought _**another**_ Tevi—"

Dorian moved forward and put a gentle and possibly flirtatious finger to Cullen's lips, causing the man to immediately stop talking and sputter, moving back abruptly to break the contact that Dorian so readily provided.

"Tomorrow," Dorian said. He then nodded to Krem before turning on his heel and offering his arm out to Evelyn.

Evelyn looked between Dorian and Krem for a moment. Her mind just couldn't keep up with the events. She thought she'd just been about to retire to her house with Krem for the night but that had been rudely interrupted by Cullen's storming over.

She looked up and met Krem's eyes and felt her expression sadden. Krem met her eyes with a confident singular nod, as if telling her she should go with Dorian. His look also seemed to say that he'd be along later, but Evelyn admitted that it could very well have been her own hope projecting onto his actual expression.

She held his gaze for a few moments but ultimately let Dorian begin leading her away.

"I'm… I'm sorry about that," she heard Cullen say to Krem over the sounds of her and Dorian's footfalls. "Everyone is… a little tense."

"Don't apologize to me. Apologize to her," Krem said, his tone tinged with irritation.

"I will. Thank you for stepping in. I—I would never hurt her."

Krem gave a skeptical huff. "Your actions say otherwise. Your sword was about out of its damned sheath," he added, his voice cautiously authoritative, as if he were talking to one of his Charger's but remembered that he was indeed talking to the current Commander of the Inquisition's forces.

Evelyn heard Cullen give a weighty sigh. "It's… I have no excuse. Once tempers have settled, I'll apologize to her properly. For now… It looks like I have to make arrangements for the incoming mages. If you'll excuse me."

She heard footfalls in the snow but just then she and Dorian crested the stairs to enter Haven proper, the large doors creaked open as the sentries gave them passage before they shut again.

To his credit, Dorian was quiet as they walked up the steps into Haven. She let the Tevinter lead her up the stairs as her mind went awash with new thoughts.

Cullen had never been aggressive towards her in the past; on the contrary, he was quite kind. He'd always had a darker sense of humor and perhaps a rather morose attitude towards things and relied heavily on his knowledge of all things Templars, but he wasn't the malicious sort. Evelyn had spent a few of her early days with the Inquisition flirting with him before realizing he was a Templar and promptly backed off. She'd _played_ with Templars before while she lived at the circle and that wasn't a power dynamic she'd enjoyed in the bedroom, a friendship, or relationship and wasn't one she was interested in revisiting.

_Perhaps he's having trouble with his lyrium chains, _she thought, recalling a time where the Templars at the Ostwick circle had to severely limit their lyrium intake due to a mage apprentice's error in an experiment which caused an explosion on the floor above where the lyrium cache was held. It had taken weeks to resupply the circle with lyrium and watching the Templars there go through withdrawals had been frightening. Their mood swings were unpredictable to the point where other Templars had to restrain two others on separate occasions because a minor offense a mage committed escalated beyond reasonable punishment.

She let out a sigh as they began to ascend the second set of stairs. She had half a mind to forego the tavern entirely and simply turn in for the night and go to bed. Perhaps Krem would do what she thought he'd been trying to convey and meet her later. But Dorian kept walking as he followed the sound of song and laughter on the frigid air to find the Tavern.


End file.
